Planning Ahead

While we waited for the house to be built, I used the floor plans available to draw up this conceptual layout, which was nearly identical to the arrangement in one of my previous shops – shop number four. (More information on shop number four can be found here.) However, shop four was nearly 150 square feet larger. Because the new shop was smaller, I decided not to settle for this arrangement – the floor area looked to be too restrictive.

This layout placed a great deal of emphasis on the placement of machinery as until that time I was primarily a power tool user. I spent the three or four years prior to building the new house researching the proper use of hand tools, although I lacked sufficient tools to practice the skills. After moving in to the shop I found the wiring deficient to the point that hand tools were all I could use – yet another factor that affected the evolution of my woodshop.

Certain aspects of the design would remain the same. First, I like the table saw against the wall. My rip fence has a capacity of over 50 inches so I don’t really need clearance on the rip fence side. I learned of this from the book Working at Woodworking by Jim Tolpin. I highly recommend Mr. Tolpin’s book even if you aren’t considering making money with your skills. Second, the workbench needed to be near a window. Everything else seemed negotiable at this point because the shell was so bare. Once construction was complete and we moved into the house, I made a few changes.